Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Into the Darkness
by SharkAttack719
Summary: Percy thought he would be searching for artifacts about the American Civil War. He was wrong. Instead, he willingly thrusts himself to help his enemy at Camp Half-Blood: Clarisse. Together, with Thalia, they try and uncover the secrets of the Labyrinth, a twisting maze of darkness and madness. And they must figure out how Ethan plans to attack camp from it. AU. "On HIATUS."
1. Prologue

**Hey everyone,**

**Welcome to the fourth installment of my version of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. I hope you enjoy this story as about few hundred or so did the last three. I know most that did like my first story did not like my second story, and I am okay with that. For those who have stuck with it, I congratulate you. I know personally that I would rather see something different rather than what has happened in the real series, but since a hundred and fifty or so have followed my second story, I know that there are still quite a few people who have read it. Please, if you enjoy this story, follow it. If you have enjoyed my previous stories, hang on to this one. It's always better to have a smaller but better fan base than a large but weaker one.**

**Anyways, thanks for the hundred and a little bit of you that stayed with me through this writing process and I hope to see you again in the future.**

**With best regards,  
SharkAttack719**

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**Prologue**

**Chris Rodriguez**

He didn't want to go in there.

The Labyrinth was considered a bending, twisting maze of darkness and madness. It was considered to be a place that you would get lost in, to never find your way out. Made by Daedalus, a genius inventor, and traveled by Theseus, a great hero of ancient times. Those were the only people he knew could survive.

He didn't make it.

The Labyrinth had too many horrors to stand: a giant, who called himself the son of Poseidon, a ghost, who continuously haunted him, and screams and shouts of monsters that gave him metaphorical heart attacks. He thought he wouldn't get out of the place. But he did. He just didn't make it out sane.

He didn't survive.

The Labyrinth killed people. He saw the skeletons of men, Cyclopes, monsters, and more. He went in circles trying to get out. He lost his mind trying to escape the place. It trapped him in there, leaving him to die. By the time he found the exit, he had killed himself, his inner soul a flame that was slowly dimming, his inner soul a door that was closing.

He didn't complete his orders.

The Labyrinth had led him to a desert in the middle of nowhere. He hadn't made it to Camp Half-Blood. In the heat of the sun, he could feel his body cooking, but he had no control over it, as if some ghost had entered his body and was overpowering him. Suffering was the only thing he could feel, not even the pain from inside the Labyrinth he could feel, but the after effects.

He wished for it to end.

Why couldn't it end for him? Why couldn't he just be dead? It would be better off that way.

But there was something else that made him fight for freedom. He saw a familiar face helping him from the desert. He saw the marred face of a girl with pig-like brown eyes and stringy brown hair. It the sun, her hair looked dirty blonde, and when she looked at him, her pig-like eyes softened, and she looked beautiful.

He fought because the girl that had saved him was Clarisse La Rue.

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**Hey everyone,**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter. Thanks to those who've put this on their favorites, followed and reviewed.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _any_ excerpts taken from Rick Riordan's book _Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Battle of the Labyrinth._**

**I also apologize for any grammatical errors in the chapter above.**

**With best regards,  
SharkAttack719**


	2. Scouting Around

**Hello everyone,**

**Thank you all for reading my story. Disclaimer: I don't own any excerpts from Rick Riordan's _Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Battle of the Labyrinth_.**

**Even though the poll has nothing to do with this story, I would like all of you avid readers to vote for the poll anyways. That's right, there is a poll up on my profile page regarding the other series I am doing, _Everlasting Hero_. I believe that the idea is a little original, no popular FanFic about the original Quest for the Golden Fleece. However, I am wondering whether you want me to write about the Trojan War as well. I am only asking your opinion because I know Anaklusmos14 is doing a FanFic about the Trojan War right at the moment along with his story _Intertwined Destinies_, and I do not want people to think I am ripping off his story. My personal vote is yes, but please put in your opinion. Thanks.**

**Unlike other authors, I will continue to post even if my review count does not rise. I'm just that nice.**

**With best regards,  
SharkAttack719**

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**Περσεύς 1**

**Scouting Around**

"Ready?" I called.

"Ready!" shouted the daughter of Ares.

"Alright, get back, Thalia." I pushed the daughter of Zeus back just as Clarisse smashed the abandoned building with the wrecking ball. A huge hole was created, causing an indent in the side of the building. It creaked and a loud crash was heard from inside, but the building stood tall...as tall as a two-story, couple hundred-year-old building could stand.

"Hit it again!" I called.

"I know!"

The wrecking crashed into the building once again. This time, the building collapsed, its final stand demolished. Dust flew everywhere and I covered my eyes.

Clarisse, Thalia and I were in Phoenix trying to figure out how to destroy an entrance to the Labyrinth. Thalia and Clarisse had both suggested to demolish the entrance. Our first attempt was with the wrecking ball. Clarisse destroyed that entire building just to get rid of the entrance to the Labyrinth.

"Is it gone?" Clarisse asked.

"Let me check!" I said. Through the dust and sand, I treaded over to where we had found the entrance earlier. I never thought that in spring Arizona could be so hot, but it was. I had to wear a T-shirt and shorts at all times just to be cool. The added fact that my skin was already so tanned didn't help my interest in being here.

Somehow, Thalia managed to wear pants in this weather. I don't know how she did it, but I admire her for being able to pull it off. She was wearing a Green Day T-shirt (Big surprise.) and army pants. She didn't bother to care for her hair in the past month or so, so it had grown a little longer so that not only did she have spiky hair on top, but her hair grew down her neck to her shoulders.

As I got inside, I waved the dust away from me so it didn't get into my eyes. Coughing, I broke through to where the Labyrinth entrance was supposed to be, in the corner of the first floor against the side of the hill.

I climbed over the piece of a wall that had fallen when the building collapsed. When I looked at the spot where the entrance was supposed to be, I grinned. It wasn't there anymore. Then I glanced a few feet to my right and my face fell. The entrance to the Labyrinth had only shifted a few feet away.

"Percy!" Thalia yelled. "Is the entrance gone?"

"No," he replied a little shell-shocked. "It just shifted a few feet."

Within half a minute, Thalia and Clarisse joined me next to the entrance to the Labyrinth. The daughter of Ares looked mad.

"Why won't this stupid thing go away!?" she punched the section of the wall next to the Greek delta.

You see, the entrances to the Labyrinth were all marked with a Greek delta, in English the letter "D." It symbolized Daedalus whose name started with a delta. Even though we'd only seen one entrance, I assumed that it was at every entrance.

The dust stirred up around us, still reacting to the collapse of the building we'd just destroyed.

"What now?" Thalia asked exasperated.

Now, before you go and ask questions, Thalia did come with me and Clarisse after finding out Annabeth was bringing Luke back to San Francisco. Thalia said she didn't want to ruin their relationship by intruding, so she decided to stay back. I asked Clarisse if Thalia could help us with the Labyrinth, and the daughter of Ares grudgingly agreed. She told me not to tell Thalia about Chris, and I respected her enough to not spoil that secret.

So, we went separate ways for the next three months, gathering up as much information about the Labyrinth as we could. I admit that I stole books from a library, but that was besides the point. We met back at Camp Half-Blood in April, ready to find a way to destroy the entrance so that we knew how to destroy it back at camp, wherever it is.

"I don't know," I said dejected. I'd hoped that by destroying the building that we'd destroy the Labyrinth entrance as well, but to no avail. "Clarisse. Should we try to find another entrance? Another one in New York?"

"I don't know," she replied. "After all we did here...Thalia, can you try blasting it with lightning? With as much power as you can muster?"

The daughter of Zeus swallowed. "I'll try."

"Alright."

"Don't hurt yourself, Thalia," I cautioned.

"Don't worry," she acknowledged. "I won't. Now stand back. You're not immune to thousands of volts of electricity."

I nodded and stepped back with Clarisse. We watched as the sky turned grey, the sun being blotted out quickly by moving clouds, all headed to a designated spot right above us. It was as if they were drawn to Thalia. I watched as clouds began passing right into each other, merging like Play-Doh.

Thunder rumbled in the sky and I saw streaks of electricity pass through the clouds.

"Gods...that is powerful," Clarisse mumbled.

I looked forward at Thalia, who'd pulled her spear out and pointed it at the sky. I saw sparks flickering along her arm. Electricity crackled in the sky, the clouds still colliding with each other. My eyes widened when thunder screamed right above us. I pushed Clarisse back even further.

"Clarisse, get back!"

"YAH!" Thalia yelled and a huge bolt of lightning struck down from the sky, the force of the impact knocking Clarisse and I off our feet. That lightning felt powerful, not nearly as powerful as Zeus' bolt which destroyed nearly an entire building trying to kill my mother and I.

Dust and dirt covered my body now, some of the stuff getting into my nose and mouth. I coughed, trying to get the sand, dust and dirt out of my mouth. I got up slowly, the explosion rattling my bones. Clarisse lay next to me, coughing as well. Dust had swirled everywhere making it impossible to see in front of us, at least for the time being.

Clarisse got up slowly as the dust began to clear. I saw Thalia laying down in front of us as still as a board. Her eyes were closed, but her mouth was parted. I ran up to the daughter of Zeus and knelt by her side.

I made her sit up and patted her back hard, though not too hard otherwise I would hurt her. Clarisse crawled over to me and knelt next to Thalia. Still coughing, she asked, "Is she okay?"

I leaned down to check if she was still breathing. "She's breathing. I think she drained too much of her power and fell unconscious."

"Great," muttered the daughter of Ares. She looked up at the entrance to the Labyrinth, which was still fully intact. "Now we have to drag her to my mother's house."

"Sounds like a good idea," I said. "Better than staying out here with nothing to do and nothing to help her with."

Clarisse shrugged, knowing that was true. "Well, here we go."

Line Break

Clarisse's mother's house was much cozier than I thought it would be.

On our way back, Clarisse drove an old pickup truck that we'd found in a junkyard in Phoenix. We assumed that if people found an old pickup truck that was no longer licensed, they would be less suspicious as to what was happening. Better than what I'd heard happened to Luke's old Honda...or whatever it was.

Apparently, they'd fined him for parking in an unauthorized space. Somehow the police had found his car next to Westover Hall.

The son of Hermes was pissed, to say the least. But eventually, he paid up. Annabeth was trying to teach him not to steal whenever he needed something, unless it was an urgent situation. The last Iris-message I'd received from them, Annabeth had told me that she was trying to teach Luke how to work for what he wanted.

"Good luck," I had told her. It wasn't going to be easy changing a hereditary attribute.

When we entered her mother's house, Clarisse called, "Hey, mom!"

"Hello, Clarisse," her mother replied. "How's my girl doing? Killing monsters and destroying ancient mazes?"

"We tried to," the daughter of Ares called back. I couldn't tell which room Clarisse's mother was in, but she was on the main floor, that's for sure.

"Come into the dining room and you can tell me all about it," she replied. "Then you can formally introduce me to your acquaintances, or friends, if they are."

"Acquaintances," Clarisse quickly responded. She turned to me. "Carry Thalia into the dining room and sit her on one of the chairs. I'm going to go and get the First Aid Kit."

"Shouldn't we lie her down?" I asked.

"Thalia, I'll admit, is a strong person," Clarisse admitted. "She can stand sitting up while recouping." The daughter of Ares snorted. "_Stand sitting up_. How ironic?"

"Yeah, sure."

The daughter of Ares turned and went upstairs. As she did, I carried Thalia into the dining room. The thing is, I couldn't carry her any other way than the "wedding" style. I couldn't help but blush at myself. Last December, on Thalia's birthday, we'd officially started dating. Yeah, that's right...dating. I mean, Luke and Annabeth were dating already, so why couldn't we?

Annabeth and Luke were happy for us, and Chiron himself told us that he was pleased we'd finally come to our senses. What he meant by that was a mystery to me. Thalia and I continuously had our fights, as it was normal...but I admit that a lot of them ended in us making out. That was only because we were in private. There was no way we would do that in public. Remember when I said we split up to find more about the Labyrinth? Well, Thalia and I pretty much stayed together. So, we had quite a few "sessions."

_But_, we were only fourteen. We didn't do anything inappropriate, despite what Aphrodite would want.

I wasn't sure whether I'd liked her ever since I'd met her, or whether I only liked her because Annabeth was dating Luke. I sadly remembered the slight quandary that we'd had when I pointed out the fact that Thalia only had a crush on me because I told her to break with Luke. The very start of this all came back to one thing though, Annabeth.

I loved the girl like my sister, but maybe if she didn't desperately want Luke to be hers, maybe I wouldn't have felt pity toward her. Then I told off Luke and Thalia, who were obviously developing serious feelings for each other. It could have been the kiss that started it all. Just before the quest where Thalia, Luke and Clarisse went into the Sea of Monsters, she'd accidentally kissed me. I _did_ kiss her back, but I hadn't realized it until later, when I came back from my serious injury. After "dying" and then coming back to camp, I had basically shunned Thalia when I found out she had a crush on me. Luke and Annabeth were happy together, kind of, and Thalia really, at that point, wanted to date me. I thought I ruined our friendship by shunning her, but she forgave me quickly. Quickly, things began to spiral downwards. Later that winter, I'd completely turned her aside, pretty much breaking her heart. Dionysus chastised me for that deed, and I basically felt horrible. Thalia shut me out for about a week. It felt like forever though. At the winter solstice, we made up...and made out.

Now, as I set Thalia down on one of the chairs and kept her head steady, I really regretted my decisions to hurt her multiple times. She was pretty, I had always thought that, but it wasn't the fact that she was "makeup pretty," but like Annabeth, she was a "natural pretty." The eyeliner she wore fit on her usually scary expression, but she could be soft at times. Her eyes were what really caught my attention, though.

When she was angry, they flashed like lightning, as if she were about to electrocute me with a thousand volts of electricity. Then, when she got happy, they lit up, not like electrical lights, but like the cool blue on a clear winter day. They almost looked icy, though not in a bad way. When the daughter of Zeus got sad, her eyes became sullen. Blue was a really sad color, her face growing morose and the blue in her eyes dulling. At a first glance, she would seem like a bully, someone who would pick on you because she looked mean. But once you really get to know her, she's not a bad person. She has feelings too. She was kind of like Clarisse, though Clarisse _was_ a bully.

Now, Clarisse was an interesting case. When I first got to camp, she picked on me, but not anyone else. She didn't even hate Thalia, Luke or Annabeth. Only me. I have always wondered why, but in the past winter and spring, I have begun to find out for myself. What I think right now, is that she was threatened by my appearance, a supposedly strong demigod who has good leadership..._supposedly_.

I didn't know what else to think of Clarisse. I remembered learning somewhere that all bullies have motives behind their aggressive behavior. I had a feeling that hers had to do with that arrogant father of hers. I remembered back when Ares had threatened his _own_ daughter that if she let me get the credit of finding the Golden Fleece, he would beat her. I saw him raise his fist.

That made me get even angrier at the god. He shouldn't punish his own kids.

"Hello, Percy," Ms. La Rue greeted. "Clarisse told me a lot about you."

"She did?"

"Yes, always whining and complaining about some _Percy Jackson_ coming in and ruining her reputation and Camp Half-Blood," she said. "I'm guessing you are Percy Jackson."

"Uh, well, yes." I said nervously. For some reason, Ms. La Rue seemed a lot scarier than she looked.

Ms. La Rue her hair out of her face. It was tied back in a ponytail, the brown hair sticking up in random places. "My daughter is quite the complainer. I'd say she needs to toughen up and stand up to you like the brave girl she is."

Ms. La Rue seemed a lot nicer than Ares. I wonder how the Hades she got his attention. Then I figured it was probably because she was very fit. Ms. La Rue was slim, slimmer than Clarisse, but the daughter of Ares had inherited that "largeness" from her father.

"Well, I guess so," I shrugged.

"She's got the strength to do it, too!" exclaimed her mother. "I don't know why she hasn't beaten you yet."

"Strength isn't everything," I blurted, memories from the Quest for the Master Bolt coming back to me. "Sometimes even strength must bow to wisdom."

Ms. La Rue raised an eyebrow, and I blushed. "Sorry. My friend Annabeth, a daughter of Athena...she's quite the strategizer. I, ah, am not actually that smart or wise. But Annabeth is."

"I see, I see." Ms. La Rue glanced at Thalia. "Is that Annabeth, by any chance?"

"No," I denied. "This is Thalia, daughter of Zeus. And I'm the son of Poseidon."

"So, you two are technically cousins," she stated.

"Technically everyone at camp are cousins, nephews, nieces, uncles, or aunts," I shrugged. "But at camp we only differ by godly parent. You're okay to date anyone who does not have the same godly parent as you do."

Ms. La Rue eyed me carefully. "Alright, Percy."

Clarisse walked into the room and noticed her mother staring at me. It was beginning to make me uncomfortable. "Uh, mom? Why are you staring at Percy?"

"He reminds me of a friend I had when I was a child, back when I lived in New York," Ms. La Rue commented. She began to tell an anecdote. "She was quite nice actually, the exact opposite of me. I suppose that was why we were friends. He looks vaguely familiar."

Clarisse frowned. "Are you hallucinating or something?"

"No, I'm not," replied her mother hotly. "Is that how you regard your mother? _Are you hallucinating or something_?" Then she took a deep breath. "Sorry, my little warrior. I have had a rough day at work."

"That's fine, mother," Clarisse said a little scared, like a jump scare. "Anyways, what's for dinner?"

"Anything we have," sighed Ms. La Rue. "You choose. I'm too tired to pick right now."

The daughter of Ares grinned. "Thanks, mom."

Line Break

So basically, for dinner we had steak.

I loved it. Steak was practically my favorite food ever. If I were to be stranded on a deserted island forever, I could survive with just eating steaks and drinking blue cherry Coke. That would be one hell of an island to give me that, though.

As the sun began to fall, I watched Thalia slowly regain her consciousness. Clarisse was upstairs probably watching the T.V., but I stayed downstairs with Thalia.

The daughter of Zeus blinked tiredly and turned to me. "Percy!" she said. "Where...where are we?"

"Clarisse's mother's house," I replied. "I thought I told you to not use too much of your power? Apparently you're like me and you are obedient."

Thalia chuckled. "Did we destroy the entrance?"

"No."

"Wow...you must need _a lot_ of power to destroy that entrance," she murmured amazed. "I seriously put in almost everything I got."

"You should avoid doing that from now on," I told her. "When we're in battle, that can be a very dangerous thing, if you fall unconscious by your own accord. I care about your safety."

Thalia slapped me hard across my cheek, stunning me as I didn't expect her to have that kind of power after just waking up. "You can't tell me what to do," she snapped. Then her expression softened. "But it's nice to know that you care."

"When you're young, you're given lessons for tests, like in school," I said philosophically. "Then, when you get out to live life, you're given tests in which you must learn lessons from. I've done that."

"Jeez, you really sound like Annabeth's pupil or something," Thalia snorted.

"Well, we all learn from each other, don't we?"

A long silence enveloped us, causing a slightly uncomfortable period of time. Before long, time came that we had to go to sleep. I kissed Thalia good night before falling asleep, no dreams haunting me that night.

When I woke up the next morning, I had an eerie feeling. The fact that I had no dreams the previous night gave me the impression that something bad was going to happen, like the calm before a storm.

Clarisse, Thalia and I went back to the entrance to the Labyrinth to search about it more. We scoured the area, trying to find any possible way of destroying the entrance. I wondered if Zeus' lightning bolt, my father's trident, and Hades' immortal power could destroy the entrance. But considering how powerful those weapons were _alone_, I'd rather not try.

When we found no way to destroy it, Clarisse punched the wall again in anger.

This time, he punched so hard that her hand began bleeding. The daughter of Ares cursed and clutched her hand.

"Are you okay, Clarisse?" I asked.

"I'm fine, Prissy," she grumbled, still clutching her hand.

"Here, let me see," I offered. I reached out to grab her hand, but Clarisse yanked it away. "Come on, Clarisse. Just let me see it. I don't have to do anything. Just—"

"No!"

"Clarisse—"

"Why can't you mind your own business for once," she growled. "It's not your job to meddle around in everybody else's lives. I can take care of myself. And don't even start with the '_I care if you are hurt_.' I'm not a sissy."

My face went red. "Just because someone cares about you doesn't mean you're a sissy. Wouldn't you like it if your father didn't threaten to beat you up when you get the chance to become a heroine? Wouldn't you like it if someone actually gave you attention without hurting you?"

"It is the cruelty that brings out the strength," she retorted. "Besides, you aren't even my friend. Why would you even want to help me? We're supposed to be enemies. You only agreed to help...to help with the Labyrinth, nothing else. I'm not your daughter, sister, friend, or anything. We're just acquaintances."

"So _what_?" I snapped angrily. "You'd be okay if it was someone like Silena helping you? Or maybe even Chris?"

"I told you not to mention him," she growled dangerously. Her voice was on the edge of breaking. "You said you wouldn't—"

"I promise I wouldn't tell about what happened!" I exploded. "Are you really that dumb to forget what I said?"

"That's it." Clarisse lunged at me, but I easily sidestepped.

"Hey! Stop it, you two!" shouted Thalia, who had been watching the scenario get worse and worse. "What happened to Chris? Who is—"

"It's none of your gods damned business," Clarisse snarled. "Stay out of this, Bird Brain."

Thalia rounded on the daughter of Ares. "What did you call me?" she said in a dangerously calm voice. Her eyes flashed with rage. "I said, _what did you call me_?"

"Bird Brain!"

Thalia threw the first punch. It connected with Clarisse's jaw, and the daughter of Ares clutched it as she reeled back. She stared at Thalia as if she couldn't believe that the daughter of Zeus would do it. Then her face morphed into one of anger and she threw a flurry of punches at Thalia.

Punch number three connected, sending Thalia to the dirt. Clarisse stepped forward, looking ready to pounce onto the daughter of Zeus and rip her to shreds. Before she could do anything, I grabbed Clarisse by her shoulder. "Stop, Clarisse. You'll just make this problem worse."

"You can't tell me what to do!" Clarisse grabbed me and threw me to the wall. I collided with the wall hard before I heard a soft click. Suddenly, an empty hole of darkness opened up before my eyes.

Right in the bottom of the hillside wall, a dark hole to the Labyrinth opened up, seemingly a pit leading down into the maze of madness. I was too late to stop it.

Thalia, who'd gotten back up, kicked Clarisse toward the hole, not thinking that it was the entrance to the Labyrinth. They fought like animals, like martial arts masters, crashing at each other with every single blow they threw. Finally, they reached the hole where Thalia pushed her down.

"Wait!" I shouted. "No!"

I lunged forward for the falling form of Clarisse, managing to catch her leg. Her weight and momentum was too much for me, making me slip down into the pit. I felt an arm grab my legs before we tumbled into the place like a mudslide. Above us, the opening in the roof closed, locking us in.

Darkness surrounded us and I felt two things grab me. A cold, buzzing hand grabbing my left hand, and a large, full hand grabbing my hair.

"Ow! Clarisse!"

"Sorry, Prissy." She didn't sound too sorry. In fact, she sounded deathly scared.

"Hold up, I'll give us some light," I said. I pulled Triametalla out of my pocket and the mixed glow of bronze and silver gave us a little light to be able to see with.

"Look what you did," Clarisse told Thalia. "Great, where do we go now?"

"Forward?" suggested Thalia. "What do you think, Percy?"

I bit my lip. If Annabeth were here, she would know what to do. I kind of missed having her brains around for quests and adventures and stuff. It had been a year since I'd been on an adventure with the daughter of Athena. I had a bad feeling of what was to come in the Labyrinth, not wanting to move from this very spot. But Percy knew they were trapped there was no way they could get back out to Phoenix, not that he knew of. He knew his decision was foolish, and he probably should have looked around the area first, but he made his decision.

"Forward it is."

And the three of the surged forward into the darkness of the Labyrinth.

* * *

**Hey everyone,**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter. Thanks to those who've put this on their favorites, followed and reviewed.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _any_ excerpts taken from Rick Riordan's book _Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Battle of the Labyrinth._**

**I also apologize for any grammatical errors in the chapter above.**

**With best regards,  
SharkAttack719**


	3. Merry-Go-Round

**Hello everyone,**

**Thank you all for reading my story. Disclaimer: I don't own any excerpts from Rick Riordan's _Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Battle of the Labyrinth_.**

**Unlike other authors, I will continue to post even if my review count does not rise. I'm just that nice.**

**Don't forget, if you have nothing better to do, check out my other story Everlasting Hero: The Argonauts.**

**This is quite a short chapter, mainly because I've had writer's block. I just decided to go with this short chapter so I can get it over with. It will pick up soon, hopefully. I'm going to take my time with this story, mainly because I want to know how Rick Riordan writes his last two books. You can guarantee that the Heroes of Olympus series will take much longer to update, considering I want to refer to Rick Riordan's book to see what I can change and cannot change.**

**With best regards,  
SharkAttack719**

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**Περσεύς 2**

**Merry-Go-Round**

I would hardly call the Labyrinth _a_ maze. The Labyrinth was _the_ maze, a twisting turning corridor of madness, designed so that the creator, Daedalus, could barely get out.

It was a mystery as to how Clarisse managed to find her way out. Even our tenth attempt to find a way out was a failure.

Our first attempt failed right from the point when we walked forward. After about five paces, a loud scraping was heard from behind us. We whirled around to find that where we'd come in from was now a dead end. A huge concrete wall had suddenly appeared, blocking our path. We'd shared looks and hesitantly moved forward.

I had a feeling that we'd just made our mission a lot more complicated. I had a feeling that we could have gotten out right there and then.

Thalia let go of my hand as we progressed further, and Clarisse brought up the rear, grunting and grumbling something about crazy ghosts.

After turning a corner, I turned toward the daughter of Ares. "Clarisse. How the Hades did you get out of this _thing_ in the first place?"

She kept walking, but I could tell she was thinking about what I'd said. "Um, well. I was really freaked out at the time. I had gone in a circle five times after catching another one of Ethan's scouts sitting down in a pool of his own blood. He—he'd stabbed himself after going crazy. The kid couldn't take it. Said he was a son of Hecate or something, told me about Ethan's plans to march an army through the Labyrinth and something about his brother disowning him. I just kept running and running and running until...until I ran into the glowing delta. I popped back in the desert like...like I hadn't been inside the Labyrinth at all."

I stopped. "You just ran."

Clarisse noticed that I had stopped and turned around. "Yeah, pretty much. I was too...um—"

"Terrified?" Thalia suggested.

The daughter of Ares looked down. "Yeah. I was too terrified to really try to escape while walking and figuring out things sanely. Losing my mind was something I didn't want to do, so I just ran."

"It would have helped you more if you stayed focused," I said. "If you keep running, it is more likely for you to get lost and lose your mind."

She scowled. "Thanks for making me feel better."

I grinned and lightly punched her shoulder. "That's what enemies are for. Now come on. Let's find a way out of this place."

We continued down an old brick path, finally breaking out of our endless circle. But the problem with this path was that it seemed to go on forever, leading us into further darkness. I admit that I was a little freaked out just because we were being squished into this little tunnel. Even though the pathway stretched out both ways, the walls were closing around me like a fist. I could just feel it.

"Percy, are you okay?" Thalia asked.

"Yeah, just my claustrophobia," I replied.

"And let me guess," Clarisse started. "You're not afraid of the Labyrinth."

"Not yet, anyway."

As soon as I said that, a huge bellow echoed down the tunnel from behind us, followed by a few ear-piercing screams. I nearly had a heart attack and jumped. There was a rock on the ground, and I ended up tripping on that. I fell to the ground with a thump. Riptide was at my feet.

"AH!"

Someone tripped over me and fell to the ground next to me. I immediately got up to check who had fallen. It was Thalia, but she had a long scratch along her left arm. It was bleeding a little, but I couldn't really tell, the glow from my sword being too little.

"Clarisse, wait!"

"I'm right here," a hoarse voice whispered from my right. I turned to see Clarisse with a petrified face on, looking in both directions; her skin was pale white. Both things I had never seen on her face.

"You okay, Clarisse?"

She swallowed. "Yeah. I—I'm all right. What was that noise? The bellowing and the screaming."

"I don't know." I looked down in the direction we came from. I heard a faint thudding sound, sort of like drops of water hitting a window or windshield on a car. It wasn't like raining, but sort of like _plop_-Mrs.-_plop_-Mrs. It was like stomping...like...

"Footsteps." I cursed and turned to Thalia. "You alright?"

"Footsteps? You don't have to ask me twice."

I helped her up and ushered her and Clarisse ahead, the footsteps getting louder and closer. That's when we started running. For the first time, the two bravest people I knew, Clarisse and Thalia, both looked as scared as ever, running from whatever was approaching us. We turned a corner, which meant we were going to enter a room of some sort soon.

There was another corner up ahead, but before we could turn, something coming from that direction crashed. We stopped in our tracks when we heard the slight clicking from behind.

Slowly, I turned around and just before it shifted away, the ghostly face of a demon jumped at me, just before the Labyrinth changed tunnels and it disappeared. Meanwhile, I fell to the ground from the jump scare.

Clutching my chest, I stared at the ground while the two girls helped me up. Well, it was mostly Thalia, but Clarisse awkwardly patted me on the shoulder.

"What was it?" the daughter of Ares asked.

"A ghost, a demon," I said. "Something ugly. But the path has changed. It looks... cleaner."

That part was true. Before, we had been walking through a brick tunnel. What had shifted behind us was a solid concrete one that had modern graffiti on the walls. There were really cool designs, like this word spray painted with a rainbow of colors. I think it said something like "Fach yo5."

"Why would this be down here?" Thalia asked, touching the walls seemingly interested. It must have reminded her of living on the streets when she was younger.

"I don't know, but I hope we find our way out soon." Clarisse was urging us to go forward, to get out of the Labyrinth. "This place is actually scaring me. I hate feeling weak."

"Did I ever tell you that I overheard your conversation with Ares last summer, in the old ironclad?" I asked curiously.

"What?! You heard!"

"Yeah. I mean, he's being rude and malicious, but you don't have to act that same way. Listen, last year Zoe really changed my view on not looking at people by how they act, but what their true intentions are. You have to stand up to your dad sometimes, Clarisse."

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" she said like an incantation, covering her ears.

Thalia was looking at me curiously. She had an eyebrow raised, as if she couldn't believe I'd learned something from Zoe. Despite the fact that she and Zoe had made up last winter, she still viewed herself as...in some ways, better than her.

After a little while, I got Clarisse to calm herself down a little, and we continue through the maze. The horrible thing was that we didn't face any horrible creatures. We spent what seemed like twenty-four hours walking down a few giant corridors. We were so long that according Clarisse's watch (I didn't know she had one until then.) it took three hours to get through the shortest one. It sounded crazy, but my legs almost felt like falling off. I couldn't imagine what the other two were feeling. At least with fighting monsters we would be able to keep our senses awakened and have adrenaline pumping through our veins and arteries.

It was at the twelve hour mark that we finally found our way out.

We were in some sort of basement, costumes hung on racks all around us. It was quite weird, seeing as none of us had been here before. Stealthily, we crept out of the place and reached an oh-so-familiar street.

Cars were driving around, people walking, minding their own business. A cold chill settled over Percy as he realized they'd come a lot closer to finding the entrance to the Labyrinth that they were hoping for.

"This looks familiar," muttered Thalia. "Too familiar."

"Busy streets, huh?" Clarisse said. "This looks awfully like—" She cut herself off.

I followed her line of sight and my fears were confirmed. She was looking at the Empire State Building. We were in New York, not far from Camp Half-Blood. Twelve hours to nearly cross the entire country. That sounded incredible considering they'd gone by foot. But it also meant something terrible, a sudden threat imminent in my eyes.

Ethan could march his army to the entrance of Camp Half-Blood in less than a day and camp there. I realized what string Chris had been muttering about. Ariadne's string. Ethan could tie that to the entrance and rest his demigod troops. It would be disastrous.

I swallowed, trying to rid my horrifying thoughts.

"This is not good," Clarisse muttered.

"We're so close to Camp Half-Blood," I said. "Any further and we could be emerging in camp, wherever that gods-damned entrance is. That isn't good."

"But you saw down in the Labyrinth," Thalia reminded. "We weren't heading in one direction for the entire time. There were a few twists and turns that we had to deal with, remember? For all we know, we could have walked through a path that turns here and goes up to Maine or something. This isn't good."

Thalia was right, though. We hadn't gone in one direction for the whole time. One direction... that's stupid. We had been going in multiple directions. I wouldn't be surprised if we'd traveled up to Seattle first.

"We have to warn Chiron," Clarisse said. "Don't go back into the Labyrinth. We have to do a search of the camp for the entrance to the Labyrinth, instead of trying to come out. If you do find the entrance, make sure, if you accidentally fall in, don't move and find the Greek delta. That will get you out."

"Yeah, you couldn't have mentioned it earlier when we were in Arizona," Thalia criticized.

"I didn't know back then, I just figured it out," Clarisse argued. "Plus, if we hadn't gone through the Labyrinth, we wouldn't have figured out that time passes differently."

"Wait, what?" Thalia and I exclaimed at the same time.

She held up a newspaper from the newspaper stand we'd passed. "Six days after we entered. My mother will be worried. Too bad. I liked the bloody red chandelier we had." Noticing our confused looks, she added, "When my mother gets worried, she likes to break stuff, okay?"

"Ahhh," I said, drawing it out.

"Well, what an exciting day this is," Thalia said sarcastically.

"I know, right?" Clarisse snorted.

"Yes," I said, smiling a fake smile. "We learn that time passes faster outside of the Labyrinth, that there are entrances in the weirdest places in the country, and that Ethan is probably trying to find Ariadne's string from Daedalus, an inventor who died thousands of years ago. Isn't that great?"

* * *

**Hey everyone,**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter. Thanks to those who've put this on their favorites, followed and reviewed.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _any_ excerpts taken from Rick Riordan's book _Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Battle of the Labyrinth._**

**I also apologize for any grammatical errors in the chapter above.**

**Don't forget, if you have nothing better to do, check out my other story Everlasting Hero: The Argonauts**

**With best regards,  
SharkAttack719**


	4. Oh-So-Sorry

**Hey everyone,**

**I know you're going to think I've finally uploaded this story, but the truth is... I'm still trying to work it out. I've gotten nothing so far for this story that will make it original. So far, all I can think of are stuff that I copy out of The Battle of the Labyrinth. So, for now, I am putting this story on hiatus. I'm not sure I will start the Heroes of Olympus series with this set of stories, but I promise that I will finish the Last Olympian before I turn thirty years of age. If you haven't guess, I'm still quite a long way away from that (at least, I'd like to think so). I'm sorry, I'm really, really sorry. However, I know for a certain fact that some of you who have read this story have not checked out my other series. If you don't like it, there's no problem in that. Just check it out. Who knows, maybe you'll begin to enjoy it.**

**With warm regards,  
SharkAttack719**


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